Over the past several decades the number of fishing lure configurations available on the commercial market has only been exceeded by the number of persons having an interest, and taking an active part, in the sport of fishing.
Fishing lure types and configurations may be briefly categorized according to the manner in which they are used in the sport of fishing--i.e., they may be cast and retrieved (either along the surface of the water or beneath the surface of the water); or they may be jigged, trolled, floated or remain suspended at a predetermined depth.
To expand further upon the foregoing brief summarization, a lure may be designed to be cast, allowing its weight to draw out the line as the momentum of the cast lure carries it the desired distance over the water surface. One variety of such a lure may then be retrieved on the surface of the water. Such a lure may also incorporate means to generate noise in an effort to attract game fish. On the other hand, such a lure may be configured to be retrieved beneath the surface of the water, and it may still incorporate means to generate noise. It should be appreciated that the configuration itself may serve not only to generate a desired sound but also to impart a specific movement, or action, to the lure as it moves on, or through, the water in order to attract game fish.
Other configurations permit the lure to be jigged; that is, the lure attracts game fish as it is pulled toward the surface and then allowed to drop to a greater or lesser depth. When fished in this way, the shape of the lure may cause it to wiggle or flutter, in a manner deemed attractive to game fish. Generally, a casting-type lure intended to be retrieved on the surface of the water cannot be use effectively as a jigging lure, or vice versa. It is also well known that any or all of the foregoing lure configurations may be enhanced by coloration.
Fishing lure configurations may also be categorized according to the type of equipment with which they will be used. For example, users of bait-casting, spincasting or purely spinning-type equipment will generally employ lures of sufficient weight to facilitate withdrawal of the line during the cast. These same lures would not be appropriate to a person using fly-rod equipment. The fly-fisherman will choose so-called "flies", or lightweight lures, specifically designed for that type of fishing. Such lures may be much lighter inasmuch as their presentation to a location remote from that of the fisherman is generally accomplished by manipulation of the line so that its driving force is accomplished by the distribution of the weight of the line along its length rather than by the weight of the lure.
From the foregoing discussion it will be appreciated that not every lure will be all things to all fishermen. For that reason a particular lure may be extensively used and accepted by one group of fishermen but not be used or accepted by another group.
However, one particular style of lure has gained wide acceptance and has been effectively used with most all styles of fishing, and that is the spinner. The spinner is a lure, or that portion of a lure, which constitutes an oval blade designed to spin when drawn through the water. The blade generally revolves around a shaft. However, there are some variations in construction. Although the blade-shaped spinner is often mounted in tandem with other lures, the spinner in itself is sufficient to attract game-, and pan-, fish. A spinner creates the illusion of a minnow, or at least something edible, in three ways. It has vibration, flash and motion. Water is a more positive conductor of sound waves than air. External noises, such as a man shouting, bounce off the surface, and fish pay no attention to them. But let the same person step too hard on a hollow bank and the vibrations pass through the earth into the water and into the lateral lines of fish in that general area. Even though the lateral lines of a fish do not function in the same fashion as the angler's ears, the fact remains that fish can hear underwater sounds, and the fish themselves emit vibrations which are audible to other fish. Considering the fact that spinners are often effective in muddy water and after dark, this vibration factor is of great significance. Both the size and the speed at which the blade rotates probably has more to do with earning strikes than its actual appearance in the water. Spinners used for casting are ordinarily from 1-3 inches long, but those made for trolling are often 5 inches and as many as seven of the blade-like spinners may be mounted on the same shaft.
Unlike a spoon, which is a curved blade that breaks rotation because of its shape, and thus wobbles, the spinner is mounted on a shaft so that it rotates in complete revolutions about the shaft (which thus defines the rotational axis of the spinner) when drawn through the water. Therefore, the basic distinction made among spinners is the contour, or outline, of their blades. The contour is important because it determines not only how quickly, or how slowly, the blade turns but also the angle at which it rotates with relation to its rotational axis. A nearly round blade, such as the Colorado blade, rotates rather slowly and at the maximum angle with respect to its rotational axis while the narrow, Willowleaf blade rotates rather quickly and at a relatively small angle with respect to its rotational axis. Between the Colorado and the Willowleaf blade designs are a number of other blade designs that are also oval in shape, such as the Indiana, Idaho, and Bear Valley patterns, but which rotate at an angle of about 45 degrees with respect to their rotational axes.
Spinners are so popular that smaller versions are even employed by fly casting aficionados. However, no consistently effective spinner has been successfully employed for deep water, or bottom, fishing. Fisherman have used the cast-and-count technique for fishing spinners in deep water. That is, the spinner is cast, but retrieval is delayed. To established consistency the fisherman will count at a predetermined rate to a preselected number before initiating retrieval of the lure. By varying the length of the count the fisherman can, to some degree, vary the depth at which retrieval begins. However, the cast-and-count technique is, at best, a makeshift arrangement. For example, as the spinner settles into deeper and deeper water, the line tends to arc downwardly from the surface of the water to the lure so that the lure tends to rise as soon as the retrieval process begins. With some practice an accomplished angler ca develop a modicum of success in keeping the spinner at some depth--as by interrupting the retrieval so that the lure will again descend. With some luck this technique allows a spinner to be fished, at least temporarily, near the bottom, but no technique assures that a conventional spinner will hug the bottom and thereby bounce along and across the surface that constitutes the bottom. Moreover, interruption of the retrieval process stops the desired rotation of the spinner.